


Tithonus

by MFLuder



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 05:05:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14709621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MFLuder/pseuds/MFLuder
Summary: Release me, and restore me to the ground.





	Tithonus

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted February 25, 2012, on [my DW](https://mf-luder-xf.dreamwidth.org/295940.html).
> 
> Summary quote from Alfred Tennyson's poem, "Tithonus".

Steve volunteered for Rebirth; he would do anything for his country. He wanted to fight, wanted not to be some _one_ but to be part of some _thing_. He was grateful when it worked – went and fought the Nazis, the Red Skull, fought alongside his best friend, defended his country.

And then he died, before awaking into a world seventy years later and ages ahead. He lived a full life. He fought villains, protected the innocent, stood up for his values when the government tried to abuse him as their tool. He had girlfriends, friends, a family, he found true love.

Then Steve watched his true love die. His heart could beat for fifty life times, but there was no fountain of youth – magical or scientific – to keep Tony’s body in line with his heart. Steve watched his love die, withered and grey, while he retained the appearance of a healthy thirty-year-old.

He’s seen them all die. Clint, Natasha, Jan, Magneto, Emma Frost, Jessica, Carol, Wanda, Peter. He witnessed Rachel Summer’s death, the passing of Sarah – Jan and Hank’s daughter, of Rose and Sampson – Susan and Reed Storm’s great grandchildren. Some in battle. Others, old age. He’s outlived superheroes and mutants alike.

At this point, it’s him and the forces of the galaxy that ebb and flow but never truly die that are left. Wolverine, somewhere, too, but he’s never been one for keeping company. It’s been over two hundred years since Steve was born, and he doesn’t look a day over thirty-five. The end is a long time coming and Steve is tired. He misses Tony. Some days he gets reckless in battle, makes mistakes he wouldn’t have one hundred years ago.

For the first time, Steve begins to hate the serum that pumps in his veins, hate the muscles and the sharp skills that come with them, hate his own youthful face. He’s not even Captain America anymore; he’s Captain Earth who represents the whole planet, the champion who stopped the Skrulls’ empire expansion. Yet when he surveys the world, sees the flying ships, notes the teleportation devices on each person, the peace that envelops nations, all he can think is _Tony should be here_. Steve is still a man out of time, despite living with futuristic technology for one hundred years; Tony – the futurist – had always been a man meant to thrive in the future.

He presses fingers to a faded and creased photograph he keeps despite access to the life-like holographics that have replaced them. And Steve hates what he is a little more.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow and chat with me [on tumblr](http://mf-luder-xf.tumblr.com)!


End file.
